Ambassadorship towards Aliens

Ambassadorship has become one of the important tenets of diplomatic relations around the world. Consider the impact of a country removing its ambassador in the event of political or armed conflict.

In the specific case of the United States, the lack of a presence of an ambassador can also mean significant implications to American citizens traveling abroad in those countries. Looking into current events, the complications that arise without the presence of an American ambassador can be seen in the hikers who supposedly (according to the Iranian government) crossed the Iraq/Iran border while hiking in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. After 410 days of imprisonment, the Iranian government released Sarah Shourd. However, the United States had no direct role in her release because of the lack of diplomatic ties with Iran. In our place, a Swiss ambassador and embassy was acting with the best interest of the hikers’ health and safety in an attempt to secure their release. The current imprisonment of the two hikers Ms. Shourd was traveling with continues to be the responsibility of the Swiss embassy in Tehran. If we apply this to the possibility of an alien presence on Earth, it would only make sense for an ambassador to be ready to receive them.

One must consider the proposition of the United Nations to elect a “Space Ambassador for Extraterrestrial Contact Affairs” that was proposed during the current reunion of the General Assembly this week in New York City. As reported by Space.com, a Malaysian astrophysicist would be appointed if the position were approved. This significant step in a new direction for diplomacy can be seen as a leap towards accepting all visitors to our planted. Mazlan Othman’s credentials as the “director of the UN’s Office for Outer Space Affairs”, her main job since her appointment has been to facilitate “international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space,” referring [most likely] to the ambitions of industrialized nations to incorporate their own technology in the vast space that surrounds our world. Her impressive title refers simply to the interactions of human uses in space; therefore, the assumption of her usefulness in the event of alien contact seems plausible and she seems to be the most qualified to welcome aliens to our world.

Others may see the appointment of Ms. Othman as a gross misuse of resources. The United Nations, some say, should be focusing on international, armed conflict here on Earth instead of looking towards the heavens in an attempt to distract humans from the conflicts that exist on earth. Some may also bring Ms. Othman’s credentials into question. Her position within the United Nations as well as her work back in Malaysia, some could propose, does not qualify her to represent the world as a whole. Would the study of a space, not a people, qualify someone to represent the human race as a whole? This also brings up another debate. If Mazlan Othman is not the best qualified, who is?